National Emblem
| (Marching music; no words) |
About This Music
Did You Know? - National Emblem is a march composed in 1902 and published in 1906 by Edwin Eugene Bagley. It is a standard of the American march repertoire, appearing in eleven published editions.
Bagley composed the score during a 1902 train tour with his family band. He became frustrated with the ending, and tossed the composition in a bin. Members of the band fortunately retrieved it and secretly rehearsed the score in the baggage car. Bagley was surprised when the band informed him minutes before the next concert that they would perform it. It became the most famous of all of Bagley's marches. Despite this the composition did not make Bagley wealthy for he sold the copyright for $25.